I used to be terrified of raw milk until November 2011 when I started to drink it regularly.
Background: My mother was unable to nurse me due to severe medical issues, and cow's milk was hard to digest, so my first food was goat's milk. I drank pasteurized cow dairy later (sadly mostly low fat) products from an early age until age 26 and suffered gas. From age 11-26, I had acne which showed no improvement on various creams and antibiotics (now know the worst choice). Doctors said it "couldn't be dietary!"
At age 26,I self-diagnosed myself with lactose intolerance and switched to almond milk and using Lactaid (lactase enzyme supplement) for the occasional dairy. My acne disappeared and friends and family noticed. I never had issues with butter so ate it my entire life because all fake butters and margarines disgusted me.
I started low-carb reducing grains at age 31, then Paleo at age 32. My eczema went away on Paleo. 1 month after dairy elimination while supporting my husband on Paleo (he was going through a very rough time with gluten and autoimmune issues), we both reintroduced dairy - this time 100% whole pastured grass-fed but pasteurized. We had no issues with any amount of heavy cream, butter, and ghee. Other dairy products such as sour cream, cheese and yogurt no more then 1 serving a day would be fine but any more amounts of these products caused slight acne.
After the Weston Price Foundation conference meeting nearly 1000+ people consuming raw dairy their entire life extolling it's virtues, reading the literature, and visiting the raw dairy farms we decided n=1000 was too big to ignore. We realized raw milk was more natural then almond milk.
We have been consuming raw pastured whole fat grass-fed butter, heavy cream, milk, cheese, yogurt, sour cream, egg nog, creme fraiche (NOT all in 1 day) with NO symptoms - in fact we feel better then ever! We slowly increased the quantity to about 3 servings a day - we've never eaten that much dairy, and I don't think we would consume more because it's too filling and satiating.
Unlike in the past, as a child when I ate processed ice cream and felt addicted (perhaps opiate receptors, sugar, and gluten), the raw dairy I don't feel addicted to it. Whether I have 1-3 servings a day, I don't want anymore. When we travel and limit dairy (because it's pasteurized) we miss 2 things the most - raw dairy and fermented veggies!
We learned a lot WAPF, and Natasha Campbell-McBride whose GAPS diet is quite similar to Paleo recommending reintroducing raw dairy in small amounts once the gut was sealed and healed. We have come to believe the more probiotic species the better for the immune system and the best way to collect a wide variety is through raw dairy since fermented vegetables don't have that diversity.
Even here on PH, kefir is acknowledge to have the most species! http://paleohacks.com/questions/73151/which-has-a-greater-number-of-species-and-quantity-of-probiotics-fermented-vegg#axzz1m8YbEQOt
Since raw dairy helps with allergies, which is an overreaction of the immune system - perhaps it might help with autoimmune issues too?
It is my understanding all the milk, dairy studies were done with pasteurized forms (often lowfat which is oxidized), so to use that data to say dairy is problematic maybe as scientific as saying coconut oil is problematic because they used hydrogenated versions in some studies.
I know raw dairy is a pain to find depending on where you live so that is why many have just written it off - but is that throwing out the baby with the bathwater? According to 23andme DNA results I'm supposed to be lactose intolerant and my husband is lactose tolerant but we are doing great on raw dairy. I have a physician aunt who cannot tolerate pasteurized dairy except for butter and ghee, but is fine with raw milk.
Another controversy is insulin response with dairy. The Maasai are drinking don't have insulin resistance and what about babies who drink milk- are they insulin resistant? Now I know some have said that babies are growing and milk is appropriate for them but that doesn't change the fact that some ancestral populations have consumed fermented dairy products - milk, yogurt, etc.
Of course milk is not Paleolithic, but then neither are nightshades and possibly not even coconut. Yet there are intolerances and allergies to all of the above. Not everyone has a tropical genetic ancestry, those from cold climates or from an inland route would not have had access to coconut. http://paleohacks.com/questions/1405/why-are-coconuts-considered-paleo#axzz1m8YbEQOt
My point is that the story of raw milk is not over, and there are still a lot of aspects we don't understand.
